Bones' Smokehouse co-owner Tim Hennen has seen a lot in his almost 50-year career in the restaurant business locally, but he's never seen anything like the damage and randomness of the tornado that destroyed the East Brainerd restaurant on Sunday night.
"Our smokers were virtually untouched and right next to it, the walk-in cooler and freezer were destroyed," he said Tuesday shortly after visiting the site.
"Our van, which was on the side lot was 50 to 55 yards in the back and the wall from the Goodwill next door was on top of it. Amazing what these things [tornadoes] can do."
As of Wednesday, Hennen was uncertain of the future of the restaurant because the landlord, Venture Properties out of Wilkesboro, North Carolina, hadn't finished assessing the damage and talking to its insurance company about whether anything can be saved or whether it is financially feasible to rebuild.
"I just don't know anything yet," Hennen said.
He hopes to hear something in the next day or so, he said.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The back part of Bones Smokehouse, left, is all that remains of the eatery. At right is walls of the Goodwill store show extensive damage. The Chattanooga Area was hit by EF 3 tornado on the night of April 12, 2020.The restaurant had been operating offering a limited menu available for takeout via its drive-through window or delivery since the spread of the COVID-10 virus forced restaurants to suspend dine-in service.
Hennen, who also owns or co-owns Hennen's Restaurant and Greyfriar's Coffee & Tea downtown, said he'd been asked by the landlords to avoid trying to retrieve anything from the site because a big part of the Goodwill wall was leaning precariously and could fall at anytime.
"They've got the site all fenced in with security," Hennen said. He said his nephew, Jeffrey, had tried to retrieve two carved wooden Indian that had once also been part of the decor at the iconic Yesterday's bar and restaurant he owned and operated with his late brothers, Johnny and Denny for many years.
"He couldn't find them. Some of the stuff was still on the walls, but things like the HVAC units on the roof, we have no idea where those went."
This is a second major setback for Bones' Smokehouse, which opened in 1999. It was originally located two miles farther east on East Brainerd Road closer to the Mountain Shadows subdivision and endured the road widening work that ate into its parking lot and eventually forced it to close for 18 months before reopening at its new location in 2016.
Hennen co-owns Bones with Johnny's widow Teresa, Tim Bishop and Rob Stickley.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-413-6354.